Veteran investigative reporter Robert Arnold announced Tuesday evening that his time at the station is coming to an end.
“After 26 years at KPRC and 31 years as a journalist, I have decided to live life without a deadline,” Arnold wrote on social media. “My last day is Friday, June 19.”
Arnold joined KPRC in July 2000 and became one of Houston TV’s most prominent investigative reporters. An Emmy Award winner, he spent decades exposing government waste, corruption and public accountability issues. According to his KPRC biography, some of that work led to changes in state and national laws.
One of his best-known investigations examined how a private university police department handled the off-campus arrest of a bike thief. The reporting helped spur a Texas law that brought private university police departments under the Texas Public Information Act.
Arnold has earned more than three dozen awards during his career and serves as the investigative reporter and producer behind KPRC 1+’s original docuseries The Evidence Room. He has also covered more than two dozen tropical storms and hurricanes across the United States and Mexico.
In his farewell post, Arnold reflected on a career he described as “fulfilling, awe-inspiring, humbling, exhausting, joyful, and, most of all, a privilege.” He said he remains grateful to the people who trusted him with their stories and credited photographers, editors, producers and colleagues for helping shape his career.
Looking ahead, Arnold offered few details about his next chapter, quoting author J.R.R. Tolkien: “Not all those who wander are lost.”
A University of Houston graduate, Arnold worked as a police beat and investigative reporter at KTRH Radio from 1996 to 2000 before joining KPRC. He began his journalism career at KNUZ/KQUE Radio in 1995.
The announcement drew praise from colleagues across the station.
“Robert- you are the best and set the bar high in the investigates department,” KPRC Sports Director Randy McIlvoy wrote, adding that Arnold led by example, earned the trust of many and that he was honored to have worked alongside him for years.
“KPRC won’t be the same without you! Thank you for being a true journalist and leader we could all look up to,” reporter Bryce Newberry wrote.
Arnold’s departure marks the second reporter exit announced at KPRC this week. On Monday, reporter Gage Goulding revealed he would be leaving the station after less than three years.